


Presents

by AriSilverAg



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:41:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21955294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AriSilverAg/pseuds/AriSilverAg
Summary: It's Christmas and you and a close friend have decided to stay at Hogwarts.
Kudos: 1





	Presents

**Author's Note:**

> Just two things today:  
> Hogwarts belongs to the trans community now I don’t make the rules  
> Dedicated to Leo, who I am the Secret Santa in our friend group for. Hogwarts is your home too friendo, no matter what anyone tries to imply
> 
> tw: deadnaming (as a concept, no character is deadnamed)

It’s always snowing. That’s the first sign that you’re at Hogwarts in December. The second sign is that you are constantly hearing ghosts discuss Christmases of the past.

When you wake, you know it’s December 25. Your first reaction every morning is to try to look out the window to see if you can spot snow. While it takes you a few seconds, you wake up more and realise you’re still underground. While you like that in September and June, in December that means you scramble to find your warmest robes and try to get it around the right way. It’s not that winter up in the Scottish highlands is necessarily hard for you, you just like the feeling of it against your skin.

You notice that there’s a box underneath the tree in the green-tinsel covered dorm room. The box is from your parents and one of your Uncle that you haven’t seen in years. You start to question how your owl got it there without waking you up. Usually you hear something like that. Your owl is sleeping next to the head of your bed. Nobody else in your house in your year’s still here. Most people took their opportunity to see their family.

The feeling of not going home to your family hits you harder than you expect. You made that decision a while back, they said they were going to Iceland. Part of you wanted to go with them but you’re still here and your family’s traveling up the Icelandic coastline, sending owls and postcards along. You’ve diligently replied, and you can’t wait to see the mementos they have of the trip when you see them again at the end of June.

After grabbing the box under the tree, you make your way to the common room. A fire’s embers radiates from the corner. You place a log carefully on top of the dying fire, hoping to reignite it with one quick move. When you push the ember closer towards the new log, you notice you’re not alone in the common room, but neither you nor they utter a single word, the quiet feels a lot more comfortable than forced noise. The fire seems boring but it’s the only light now, and you can’t be bothered to get up and light the other candles.

You haven’t always been the biggest fan of the idea of Christmas although you know you feel okay with staying here during the break. You gave your parents the idea that it would be better for your study schedule going into January to stay here. They respected your decision, even if everyone agreed it hurt that you wouldn’t be there. You could’ve gone with them but you didn’t want to have to go home just to feel out of place.

At first you want to open the box while you’re here, but it’s better to keep the box closed until you have someone to share the occasion with. There is one person here who would understand. You decide to wait near the library. The walk feels excruciating but you push through. There’s enough stairs to properly wake you up, and now you wished you’d been able to get your morning tea before you started the walk. You take a seat on one of the benches, making sure your robes come between you and your seat.

You wait there for what feels like aeons. Finally, you notice another form of life. It takes a moment, but it’s your friend. You wonder what they’re holding under their winter robes until the pair of you realise you’re both harbouring similar boxes. This is one of your classmates who’s in Hufflepuff. You barely notice the scarf until they, only a few metres away from you, adjust their robes. You both exchange a funny expression as you both relax on the bench. You notice both boxes have the wrong name on them. You haven’t heard anyone call you those names since the first day of September, and you would both be okay if you never heard them again. That’s why the first piece of the box you both tear off is the label with those names written clearly on it. Then you both look at the way your parents tried to wrap the present inside.

Neither of you understand completely why your family abides by this specific religious tradition, but you don’t hear about any of the other holidays, especially since it seems like most of your family don’t believe anything which explains the affinity for the idea of celebrating Christmas.

After you tear off the wrapping paper you look at the contents of the package and you wonder if they know what you’re interested in. You spend too much time away from them now, they know nothing of the person you’ve become. But you smile because even if this isn’t accurate for what you like now, it feels like a time capsule from five years ago. The signed wizard rock band t-shirt (You don’t know how they’re still going as strongly as they are.) of a band you outgrew when you stopped growing out your hair.

You try not to show your reaction immediately, although your friend has somewhat the same reaction as you. It’s sad yet comforting that someone else feels this disconnect. You take a step back and realise that this is what brought the two of you together in the first place. The pair of you show off your presents. You go first. You laugh when you realise that your friend’s parents tried and ended up something equally as outdated. The both of you can remember when these gifts would have been the coolest. Now you’ve both moved on from that era of your life, but you haven’t the heart to tell your parents.

You don’t know how the pair of you are going to spend the rest of your day, but you see two ghosts flutter past, one of them taking the time to throw a glance at you before continuing on. That would’ve been the Bloody Baron, and while you distinctly remember being scared of him six years ago, he now feels like an old friend, one you’re going to miss after you graduate. For now and forever, as you’ve been told, Hogwarts is your home and nobody is going to take that away from you.


End file.
